Start with two widgets you'll glance at every day: a calendar and the built-in Batteries widget. Add one that fits your life, like Parcel if you order a lot or Flighty if you fly, and stop there, because a desktop crowded with widgets gets ignored within a few weeks. A few well-chosen widgets are one of the best first-week tweaks for a new Mac, and they barely touch the 8GB of memory the Neo works with. Here are 12 worth knowing, most of them free.
How widgets work on the MacBook Neo
Control-click an empty spot on the desktop (the Mac version of right-clicking, one of the habits covered in our Windows-to-Mac switching guide), choose Edit Widgets, and drag what you want into place. Once a window is open, macOS turns widgets mostly transparent so they don't compete with your work, and they go solid again when you clear the desktop. If you've added a second screen to your Neo, widgets can live on that desktop too.
On macOS 27 you get two extras. Right-click a widget to pick the new Extra-Large Portrait size, and use the transparency slider in Appearance settings if widgets are hard to read over your wallpaper. Widgets also update live while their app is open.
Your iPhone's widgets can show up on the Mac as well. Turn on "Use iPhone widgets" in System Settings under Desktop & Dock, and keep the phone nearby or on the same Wi-Fi, signed in to the same Apple Account (our step-by-step Neo setup guide covers signing in). That's more useful on the Neo than it sounds. A few apps on this list run on Macs as iPad apps, and their App Store listings only promise support for M-series chips. If the Mac App Store won't install one on your Neo, put it on your iPhone and use its iPhone widget instead.
Make your desktop yours
1. Widgetsmith
Free (Premium $19.99/year) · Build-your-own widgets
Widgetsmith is the build-your-own kit. Mix photos, dates, battery, and calendar data, then style the fonts and colors to match your wallpaper. Weather and tide data need Premium. On the Mac it's the iPad version, so it's a good candidate for the iPhone-widget route above.
2. Color Widgets
Free (Pro $19.99/year) · Aesthetic widget packs
Color Widgets is about looks: clean clocks, date-and-weather combos, quotes, and photo frames. It's a proper Mac App Store app, and the free designs cover most desktops. Bonus points for a palette that matches your Citrus, Blush, Indigo, or Silver Neo.
Plan your day
3. Fantastical
Free (Premium $4.99/month) · Calendar
Fantastical's widget is the best-looking calendar you can put on a Mac desktop, with clear events for the day or week. It pulls from the calendars you already use, and the widget works without paying.
4. Structured
Free, Pro optional · Visual day planner
Structured lays your day out as a timeline, from your first class to your last reminder, and its widget keeps that timeline on the desktop. Widgets are included in the free version.
5. Todoist
Free tier · Tasks
Todoist's widget keeps today's tasks in view, and you can check them off from the desktop. If you'd rather pay once, Things 3 ($49.99) has interactive widgets too, including an extra-large one. Both appear in our roundup of the best MacBook Neo apps.
6. Notes (built in)
Free · Quick sticky notes
The built-in Notes widget pins a note to your desktop, so a grocery list or a phone number stays visible without opening anything. Nothing to download.
Info at a glance
7. Carrot Weather
Widgets need Premium ($19.99/year) · Weather with attitude
Carrot Weather wraps the forecast in a sarcastic personality that makes checking the weather fun. Its widgets require a Premium subscription, though, and on the Mac it runs as the iPad app. If you only want the forecast, Apple's built-in Weather widget is free and does the job.
8. Batteries (built in)
Free · Battery levels
The built-in Batteries widget shows the charge on your Neo and the Bluetooth accessories connected to it, like AirPods or a Magic Mouse, so you catch a dying earbud before a call. It won't show your iPhone or Apple Watch, but your iPhone's own Batteries widget can sit beside it through iPhone widgets. The Neo itself is rated for up to 16 hours, and our MacBook Neo review covers how that holds up day to day.
9. Parcel
Free for 3 deliveries (Premium about $4.99/year) · Package tracking
Parcel tracks deliveries across carriers and shows the next arrival on a widget, so you're not digging through email for a tracking number. Get the original from developer Ivan Pavlov, now listed as Parcel Classic. A copycat called "Package Tracker - Parcel" charges $29.99 a year.
Keep tabs on your Neo
10. Stats
Free · System monitor
Stats is a free, open-source monitor for your CPU, memory, and disk. It lives in the menu bar by default, and once you switch on "macOS widgets" in its settings, it puts readouts on the desktop too. On 8GB, glancing at memory use helps you spot a hog. It pairs well with our 8GB optimization guide.
Fun and lifestyle
11. Day One
Free tier, Premium optional · Journaling
Day One's widgets surface an On This Day memory, a daily writing prompt, or your journaling streak, which is a gentle nudge to write a few lines. Premium adds unlimited journals and more media.
12. Flighty
Free (Pro $59.99/year) · Flight tracking
If you travel, Flighty's widget shows live flight status, gate changes, and delays on your desktop. Live tracking is free. Pro adds earlier alerts and extras that only frequent flyers need. It's overkill if you never fly.
Frequently asked questions
Do widgets slow down the MacBook Neo?
Not in normal use. A handful has no real effect on an 8GB machine. Dozens of constantly updating widgets could nibble at resources, which is one more reason to keep your desktop to a useful few. If the Neo feels sluggish anyway, widgets are rarely the cause, and our fixes for a slow MacBook Neo are the better place to start.
How do I remove or resize a widget?
Control-click the widget. You'll see the sizes that widget offers, which vary by app, and Remove Widget at the bottom.
Can I use widgets without opening the app?
For some widgets, yes. Interactive widgets arrived in macOS Sonoma, so you can check off a reminder or a Todoist task, or pause music, right on the desktop. Anything beyond that opens the app.
Can I keep widgets in Notification Center instead of on the desktop?
Yes. Click the date and time in the menu bar to open Notification Center, then click Edit Widgets at the bottom and drag widgets into it. That keeps your desktop clean while widgets stay one click away.
What's the fastest way to see my desktop widgets?
Spread your thumb and three fingers apart on the trackpad to push every window aside, then pinch them back together to return. A click on the wallpaper does the same, unless you've turned that setting off.
Why can't I find a widget for an app I installed?
Some apps only add their widgets to the gallery after you open them once, so launch the app and check again. If it's an iPhone app, make sure "Use iPhone widgets" is on in Desktop & Dock settings.